Golf practice mat



Aug. 4, 1964 w. P. LESTER GOLF PRACTICE MAT Filed Jan. 9, 1963 @QQW INVENTOR. WILLIAM F! LESTER ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,143,350 GGLF PRACTICE MAT Wiiliarn P. Lester, 1954 General St., San Pedro, Caiif. Filed Jan. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 250,277 3 Claims. (1. 273-195) The invention relates to a golf practice mat and more particularly to a mat which simulates turf and which may be employed to support a golf ball while practicing a golf swing. One object of the invention is to avoid the necessity for replacing the usual tee of wood or plastic when using a driver or similar wood club wherein the club does not dig a divot.

A further object of the invention is to avoid the necessity for digging or replacing a divot when employing an iron club with the usual downward stroke through the ball which would normally result in digging a divot.

The present invention is an improvement on the golf practice mat described and claimed in S.N. 92,287, filed February 28, 1961, for Golf Practice Mat wherein a golf practice mat is provided which simulates turf and cushions the impact of the golf club by providing a cushion on the lower side of the mat, means being provided for fastening the mat to the ground, this fastening means being in the form of an elastic tether which provides an additional cushion to resist movement of the mat on impact of the golf club.

According to the present invention, the sheet which forms the body of the mat is provided at one end, or preferably both ends, with an inclined extension terminating substantially on a level with the lower ends of the flexible fingers, or cushion, under the sheet. Preferably also, a step is provided on the sheet between the top of such extension and the top of the upper-most array of fingers, to facilitate rolling a golf ball from the ground into position on top of the upper-most fingers. This step is preferably in the form of one or more rows of supports, or flexible fingers, of graduated height, providing a golf path leading from ground level to the top of upper array of supports. This facilitates moving the golf ball into position on the mat by using the club head to push the golf ball up the incline thus provided, whereby it is not necessary to stoop over and pick up the ball by hand to place it on the mat.

For further details of the invention, reference may be made to the drawings wherein FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a golf practice mat, according to the present invention, an elastic tether and a golf ball being indicated in position on the mat.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, longitudinal, sectional view of a typical portion of the mat of FIG. 1, with parts broken away.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the cushioning effect of the flexible mat and its arrays of flexible fingers.

Referring in detail to the drawings, it should be noted that while this description will refer to certain dimensions, they are given only by way of example, as it will be apparent that various other dimensions may be employed. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the web or sheet 1 of the mat 3t) and its inclined side wing extensions 2 and 3 are of elastic or flexible material such as neoprene, rubber, or rubber substiute material, each wing, for example, being 1 inch wide, the portion of the mat which carries the arrays 4 and 5 of projections being 7% inches wide and 15% inches long.

Each array 4 and 5 is a series of closely spaced elastic of flexible elongated fingers, or supports, or projections like 14 and 15 respectively, the wings 2 and 3, the arrays 4 and 5 and the web, or sheet 1 all constituting a unitary molding of flexible rubber or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the length or height of the projections 14 in the array 4 is the same, the outer ends thereof being substantially tangent to the plane indicted by the broken line 6, 6', the

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projections 15 in the array 5 being of the same length, and their outer ends being tangent to a plane parallel to 6, 6, the projections 15 in array 5 being shorter than the projections 14 in the array 4. The elongated supports or projections 14 and 15 in both of the arrays 4 and 5 may be substantially cylindrical as shown, but preferably with a taper to not only facilitate draft of the die, but also to keep from cutting, make tough and give more resistance as desired by the golfer. Preferably, an enlarged or conical base is provided as indicated at 8 and 9 in FIG. 2 for additional strength.

Each of the side wings has one or more grommets, two being indicated for each wing as shown at 10 and 11 for wing 3 and at 12 and 13 for wing 2. A suitable elastic fastening means, or tether, such as a bridle 16 of elastic rope is fastened by a knot like 19 to the grommet at each side of the mat in order to secure the mat 30 by a cord 17 connected to a stake 18 in the ground and connected at its other end to the middle of bridle 16 as shown at 17 prime. A similar tether may be provided for the other end of the mat.

The similar supports, or projections like 14 in the array 4 may be inch long, the supports 15 in the array 5 being for example, /2 inch long, the supports in both arrays being of the order of /8 inch outside diameter.

The grommets 10 to 13 comprise means for securing the turf mat 30 in position on the ground, or similar support, with the sheet 2 substantially parallel to the surface of the ground and with the supports of the uppermost array, either 4 or 5, in upright position for supporting a golf ball 2%) (either real or plastic), for practice, or play, the array which is lower-most acting as a cushion for the impact of the golf club, either wood or iron, when hitting a golf ball supported by the upper-most array. This is particularly true and important when using an iron club with the usual downward stroke through the ball to obtain back spin, use of a full scale model having a sheet with integral opposite arrays of supports showing that the downward stroke of an iron club acts to flex the fingers in the upper array and also to flex the sheet or web like 1, as well as the supports in the lower array, as shown in FIG. 3, the mat of course immediately returning to its normal unflexed position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as both arrays of supports 14, 15 and the sheet 1 are elastic.

A tether may be used at only one end of the mat as shown in FIG. 1. The array 5 with its shorter supports 15 may be lower-most when practicing iron shots.

The grass-like fingers, or supports 14, 15 are on both sides of the mat 30 rather than only one side. The short fingers, or supports 15 tend to hug the turf, or other surface, also providing a resiliency which approximates the action of turf when dug into by a golf club. In other words, if a club is dug into turf, making a divot, as is the proper way to hit irons, then this mat enables the club head to dig into the surface similarly without a jarring contact with the hard surface upon which it rests, a cushioning eifect being provided by the mat and its fingers as shown in FIG. 3, and also by the elastic tether, or bridle 16.

According to the invention, the edges of the mat are constructed to enable the user to roll a ball upon it without stopping over and with less effort. The first two or three rows of fingers are shortened gradually to aid in this, as shown by the short fingers 21, and medium length fingers 22 at the left hand end of the mat as seen in FIG. 2, and as shown by the very short fingers 23, medium length fingers 24 and other fingers 25, which are shorter than fingers 14, but longer than fingers 24, at the other end of the mat. The fingers like 23, 24, 25, each extend in a row across the mat as shown in FIG. 1 and the same applies to the fingers 21, 22 at the other end of the mat. Such fingers 21 to 25 serve as a step, or incline, which in effect extends the incline provided by the extensions 2 and 3 to provide a golf ball path, or approach, leading from ground level indicated at 26 to the top of the upper-most array 4.

The edges of the mat have a bevel as shown at 27, 28 to hug or extend tangent with the supporting surface 26.

The mat 30 may be used upside down and may be fastened at one end, or both ends by a tether like 16, 17, 18.

' Other modifications may be made in the invention.

I claim:

1. A golf practice mat comprising a sheet of flexible material and an array of a plurality of closely spaced elongated flexible supports integral with and arising from each side of said sheet, said sheet and said supports constituting a unitary molding, an elastic tether secured to said sheet for fastening the mat to the ground with said mat supported in position on the ground with one of said arrays of flexible supports upper-most for supporting a golf ball and with the other array lower-most and acting as a cushion under said sheet, said sheet having an end with an inclined extension in position to guide a golf ball from the ground level to the top of said upper-most array.

2. A golf practice mat comprising a reversible sheet of flexible material having on each of its opposite sides an array of turf simulating elongated closely spaced flexible supports, each array acting as a cushion for the other array, said sheet and said arrays constituting a unitary molding, the upper-most array being adapted to support a golf ball in elevated position, said sheet having an end portion having upright flexible supports of reduced height and an inclined extension providing a golf ball path from the ground level to the top of said upper-most array, said sheet having grommet means for securing the mat in position on a suitable support.

3. A golf practice mat comprising a sheet of flexible material for an array of elongated flexible supports in-- tegral with and arising from the top and bottom of said sheet, said sheet having grommet means at each end thereof for fastening said mat in a substantially horizontal position on the ground or similar support, with said flexible supports which are upper-most in an upright position for supporting a golf ball, said flexible supports which are i lower-most acting as a cushion for the impact of a golf club, each end of said sheet having an inclined extension providing a golf ball path from ground level to the top of said upper-most supports.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A GOLF PRACTICE MAT COMPRISING A SHEET OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL AND AN ARRAY OF A PLURALITY OF CLOSELY SPACED ELONGATED FLEXIBLE SUPPORTS INTEGRAL WITH AND ARISING FROM EACH SIDE OF SAID SHEET, SAID SHEET AND SAID SUPPORTS CONSTITUTING A UNITARY MOLDING, AN ELASTIC TETHER SECURED TO SAID SHEET FOR FASTENING THE MAT TO THE GROUND WITH SAID MAT SUPPORTED IN POSITION ON THE GROUND WITH ONE OF SAID ARRAYS OF FLEXIBLE SUPPORTS UPPER-MOST FOR SUPPORTING A GOLF BALL AND WITH THE OTHER ARRAY LOWER-MOST AND ACTING AS A CUSHION UNDER SAID SHEET, SAID SHEET HAVING AN END WITH AN INCLINED EXTENSION IN POSITION TO GUIDE A GOLF BALL FROM THE GROUND LEVEL TO THE TOP OF SAID UPPER-MOST ARRAY. 